1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera, or more particularly, to a camera having waterproofness and allowing a strobe unit to move between a flashing position and a non-flashing position while being in use.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the past, various proposals have been made for a waterproof camera having a strobe unit and including a strobe movable between a flashing position that is a use position and a non-flashing position that is a storage position. For example, Japanese Utility Model Unexamined Publication No. 60-98835, 60-98836, or 60-100739 has described a waterproof camera with a built-in strobe unit in which a strobe of the strobe unit and a camera body are mutually coupled using a hollow pipe waterproofed with an elastic material, a lead wire lies through the hollow pipe so as to connect the strobe of the strobe unit with an electric circuit in the camera body, and the strobe of the strobe unit is movable between a storage position and a projected position for use.
Japanese Utility Model Unexamined Publication No. 55-116332 has described a safety circuit for an electronic flash unit comprising a flash tube, an ignition capacitor, a quenching circuit that allows capacitor discharge current to flow out of the flash tube when coupled with the ignition capacitor, and a safety circuit. In the electronic flash unit, a switch in the safety circuit can be set to a stationary non-actuation position and an actuation position at which a strobe housing member moves with respect to the switch. When the switch is set to the circuit actuation position, the quenching circuit is energized in order to discharge the ignition capacitor.
The camera described in the Japanese Utility Model Unexamined Publication No. 60-98835, 60-98836, or 60-100739 has a structure that a lead wire passes through a hollow, waterproof pipe. This structure requires a large space for connections, which poses a hindrance to downsizing of the camera. In an attempt to avoid this problem, the lead wire may not lie through the hollow pipe and the strobe has a waterproof structure independently of the camera body. In this case, since the strobe of the strobe unit is fully sealed, when the strobe unit is flashed continuously, heat generated during flashing causes the internal pressure of the strobe to rise. This causes a waterproof seal to be destroyed.
As for the camera having the quenching circuit described in the Japanese Utility Model Unexamined Publication No. 55-116332, a control circuit or the like is required. The invention disclosed in the publication is therefore hard to apply to low-priced cameras.